📱 Communications

“In the Time of the Red, the NET is dead. But people still need to talk. They just do it… differently.”

The DataKrash destroyed global communications. What replaced it is a patchwork of local networks, personal devices, and—when you need to move data between cities—physical couriers. Welcome to the fractured future.

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📲 Your Agent

The Agent is the smartphone of 2045—but smarter, more personal, and far more integrated into your life.

What It Does

Function	Capability
Phone	Voice, video, text—plus call screening and management
Memory	Appointments, reminders, personal database on everyone you know
Research	Searches the Data Pool for information on any topic
Lifestyle	Talks to your fridge, clothes, car—orders replacements automatically
Entertainment	Stores thousands of hours of music, video, games
Medical	Monitors body signs, can call Trauma Team if linked to biomonitor
GPS	Location services within the local Data Pool area

Agent Personalities

Your Agent doesn’t have to be a lifeless tool:

• Give it a name, voice, and avatar
• Some people treat their Agent like a friend
• Lonely orbital workers have been known to… get creative
• Feel free to make your Agent an NPC in gameplay

Gameplay Note

Your Agent makes a great NPC. Give it a personality—sarcastic assistant? Overly cheerful? It’s your call.

What It Can’t Do

• Can’t reach the old NET — that’s gone
• Can’t communicate outside the city directly — requires long-distance services
• Can’t protect you from hacking — if a Netrunner gets in your local Architecture, your Agent is vulnerable

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🌐 The Data Pool

After the DataKrash destroyed the global NET, Ziggurat built something new: the Data Pool.

Property	Details
Structure	City-wide LAN (Local Area Network)
Scope	Each city has its own separate Data Pool
Protocol	Open standard for sharing data
Access	Via Agent, Data Term, or compatible device
Limitations	No global connectivity

What You Can Do on the Data Pool

• Search for information — news, people, businesses
• Communicate locally — calls, messages, video
• Stream entertainment — PopMedia, music, games
• Access services — order food, schedule appointments
• Basic transactions — local banking, shopping

What You Can’t Do

• Reach other cities directly — requires long-distance services
• Deep research — the old NET’s archives are mostly gone
• Anonymous activity — you need an account to use the Data Pool

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📟 Data Terms

The public terminals of 2045.

Status	Details
Working	About 30% still functional
Location	Street corners, public buildings, transit hubs
Use	Public Data Pool access, basic communication
Condition	Often vandalized, outdated

Data Terms are the old fiber-optic network repurposed by Ziggurat as CitiNet. They’re useful if your Agent is dead, but most people prefer their personal devices.

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📞 Flip Phones

The cheap, disposable option:

• Cheap — much less than an Agent
• Dumb — just calls and texts
• Disposable — easy to dump if you’re worried about being traced
• Anonymous — harder to connect to your identity

Edgerunners often carry burner flip phones for jobs. Use it once, throw it away.

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🚚 Long-Distance Communication

Here’s the hard truth: there is no global internet in 2045.

City-to-City Options

Method	Speed	Security	Cost
Ziggurat data-packets	Hourly bursts	Medium	Cheap
WorldSat Comm Network	Real-time	Medium	Expensive
Physical courier	Days	High	Varies

Ziggurat Long-Distance

• Text, voice, and video messages (not live calls)
• Sent via hourly data-packet bursts
• Uses reclaimed phone lines, free-space optics, and Nomad couriers
• Reaches most cities in NUSA, Pacifica Confed, Canada, Free States

WorldSat

• Real-time audio and visual contact
• Uses surviving satellite network
• Expensive contract required
• Corps and governments use this; Edgerunners usually can’t afford it

Physical Couriers

For truly secure data transfer:

• Data stored on chip or shard
• Delivered by hand via Nomads or private courier
• Days-to-weeks delivery time
• The only way to transport data with absolute security
• Used for large archives, financial transfers, corporate secrets

The Reality

If you need to get a message to someone in another city right now, you’re looking at WorldSat (expensive) or a really fast Nomad runner. Planning ahead is essential.

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🔒 Security & Privacy

Your Communications Are Not Private

• Agents can be hacked by a skilled Netrunner
• Data Pool accounts are tied to identity — anonymity is hard
• Corps monitor everything in their zones
• The only secure communication is face-to-face — and even that might be recorded

Staying Anonymous

Method	Effectiveness
Burner flip phone	Good for calls
Public Data Term	Medium (cameras everywhere)
Physical dead drops	High
Face-to-face in private	Highest

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🎲 GM Resources

Communication Complications

d6	Problem
1	Data Pool overloaded—service spotty for hours
2	Agent hacked—someone’s listening
3	Message intercepted by corp security
4	Courier ambushed—data lost or delayed
5	Target’s Agent is off/destroyed
6	Ziggurat outage—no long-distance for days

Plot Hooks

• A message arrived via courier—but the courier is dead
• Someone needs data physically transported to another city
• The Data Pool in this district just went down—why?
• An NPC’s Agent personality holds secrets its owner doesn’t know about

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🔗 Related Topics

• Technology — Hub for all tech topics
• Old NET — What we lost
• Ziggurat — The company that built the Data Pool
• Netrunning — Hacking in the Time of the Red
• Nomads — Long-distance couriers and trade routes

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(Source: Cyberpunk RED Core Rulebook, pgs. 319-320)